BEIJING -- A cross-Strait youth summit kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday, attended by about 600 people, including young people, from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

At the opening ceremony, Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, called on the younger generations on both sides to become more proud, confident, and assured in their identity as Chinese.

Song urged them to firmly oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, safeguard the common homeland of the Chinese nation, and actively participate in cross-Strait exchanges, cooperation, and integration.